Bagshawe Cavern - Snake's Pyjamas 12/01

We often are able to help people get there with a combination of driving and public transport.

On our signup form, we'll ask you where you're travelling from and if you need, or can give a lift.

We'll try and match you up with transport options that'll support you.

It can help a great deal if you're able to make your way to the centre of Manchester or train stations like Chapel-en-le-Frith, Glossop, Hope, Buxton - if you can get to these places, we almost certainly can get you a lift the final distance.

People tend to meet at 1830, however this is trip specific.

We'll agree an arrival time and meeting point in the group chat before the trip

• We arrive at the cave's meeting/parking location
• We get kitted up
• We go caving
• The Messenger group chat is there to help answer questions now and on the night
• Bring a cave snack, water and have fun!

Unfortunately, you may not be able to come caving with us this week. We need time to figure out trip logistics, gear collection etc so can't guarantee places will be available last minute.

If the trip is sold out do join the waitlist though, if a space opens up we will do our best to fill it.

We need to know if you can't make it ASAP. The best way to tell us is by messaging the trip leader or contacting us here.

If you cancel at the last minute, it can stop other people from caving, so please give us as much warning as possible.

These evenings take time behind the scenes to run smoothly, so we ask everyone to play an active role in taking on some of the admin to make them happen. Everyone takes part at some point or other.

Whilst a small team of permanent volunteers run the evening, and are always on the lookout for new faces, everyone does a little bit to help make these evenings happen.

• Bagshawe Cavern (main, lower series, gated series)
  
• Carlswark Cavern (Big Dig Series, Dynamite Series, Tourist Series)
  
• Merlin Mine
  
• Nickergrove Mine
  
• Mouldridge Mine
  
• Wapping Cumberland Caverns
  
• Giants Hole (Upper West/Upper Sumps/Round Trip/East Canal/Boss Aven)
  
• P8 (many variations to the sump)

And there are many others in our sights.

You can see see a bit more on this page about how we organise our outdoor caving events.

Check the details for the specific trip you are booking. It will be clear if it is a horizontal trip or requires you to have some SRT (Single Rope Technique) skills. If you don't have any SRT knowledge but would like to learn, let us know! We run training trips throughout the year, basic SRT is easy to pick up and will open up a heap more places you can visit.

Before the trip, you'll receive an email telling you where to go to, and you'll be added to a Facebook Messenger Group chat where you can coordinate lifts and arrival times.

If you don't have Facebook Messenger, we'll contact you via the details you provided on sign up

Your trip leader will have had their eye on the weather for the day of the trip and the run up to it. If conditions mean that going to the planned location isn't advisable, we'll put forward a Plan B.

We try to match people to caves with the right level of challenge.

We don't always get it right, and as we're a mixed ability group, it can require a bit of understanding at both ends of the spectrum, but mostly we do a pretty good job.

Caving is just like anything - it ranges from very easy to very hard.

These evenings are for people of all caving abilities so whether you've done your first trip to Bagshawe or you're a Daren Cilau veteran, you'll be welcomed and supported.

The minimum skill is just to have caved with us at least once before.

One of the places you can cave with us before is the Extra-Welcoming Giggletrips we regularly run.

If you're an experienced caver with years of experience keen to join us, please drop us a message.

Probably not. These are fun social caving evenings rather than training evenings.

You should get to cave, whilst people may be willing to pass on skills - the expectation is that you have a fun evening cave rather than anyone shows you how to do things.

The more you volunteer with the Crew, the more we'll push training opportunities your way, and be keen to support you on your learning journey.

Yes.

We have a tackle store in Glossop and can kit you out with most things you'll need. If you have your own wellies I'd suggest bringing these as they will undoubtedly be comfier. And we don't have an endless selection of sizes!

Sadly not.

For these sessions, they need to have been on a session with before.

They're welcome to come on one of our Extra-Welcoming sessions

If they're over 18 - yes, please do!

These events are specifically organised for over 18s only, in accordance with our over 18 policy.

Everyone needs to be signed up through this page so that everything is done properly.

In general, the Crew loves well behaved cave dogs, but caving is rarely an ideal sport for dogs, and we'd generally suggest you left them at home.

We do our best to support cavers with all mobility and accessibility requirements who meet the minimum requirements for these events.

If you have specific requirements, please sign up and put them in the comments section of the signup form.

If you want to talk it over with someone beforehand, please feel free to message us.

We are not perfect, and we're developing our awareness of different venues' strengths and weaknesses for different people, but we will try to support cavers as best we can.

In the past, we've supported pregnant ladies, and the Crew is very supportive of cavers with different requirements.

We are keen to support as much caving activity as we can.

We know that not all cavers have a good understanding of what caves are best for them, and what's nearby.

By organising our events like this (feel free to read about how it actually works) we manage to support more cavers of different skill levels than we otherwise would be able to.

We're also able to diversify the caves we visit more, and help the planet, by sending small groups to caves nearest them, and support lift sharing.

Our approach is not for everyone, and fortunately, we're lucky to be in an area where many caving groups operate and some may have approaches that work better for people who prefer the other approaches to organising caving events.

We need everyone to have membership before they come on our outdoor events to make sure everyone has 3rd party BCA insurance as required of us by the BCA.

Every week we send out feedback forms, to gather your feedback and input.

Every piece of feedback is read and considered in detail, and this is by far the best place to pass on information to the team.

Often messages get lost, conversations quickly get forgotten, but when we're contemplating places and ways to improve our events - the feedback from our feedback form is the first thing we consult.

Feedback is super useful, and constructive thoughts and things we could do better are things we're very grateful for. Even "it was ok" can be surprisingly useful.

Here’s what you should bring:

• Some warm older/less nice clothes to wear as a base layer underneath the caving-specific clothes we will provide. Some examples
  • Fleece jumpers
  • Leggings
  • Thermal base layers
  • Outdoorsy t-shirts

Avoid anything made from cotton or untreated wool (such as t-shirts or wooly jumpers); synthetic fabrics that keep their warmth when wet work best here. You will be provided with a thick fleece layer and a protective outer layer to wear over this, so if all you have is cotton you’re better going without.

• Change of socks/underwear/replacement clothing. Anything you wear into the cave will likely be too wet and dirty to wear afterwards in the car, so make sure you have spare clothes for the drive home.
• Wellies (we do have spares if necessary, but the sizes and stock are limited). These aren’t special wellies – £12 wellies from go-outdoors or sparkling pink wellies with fur linings are great for caving.
• Towel
• Any important medicines you take
• Contact lenses or string for your glasses.
• A full sealed snack you enjoy eating (eg a mars bar)

What will I be borrowing?

If you don’t already have them:

• Caving Oversuit to go over your undersuit
• Caving Undersuit to go underneath your oversuit
• Caving Helmet with Caving Headtorch and fully charged Batteries
• Gloves
• Kneepads
• Wellies
• SRT Kit

We’ll also be carrying the appropriate group equipment.

This is what we'd expect from experienced cavers:

• Undersuit
• Oversuit
• Helmet + Light
• Wellies
• Kneepads
• Gloves

SRT Kit:

• Descender
• Ascender + security link
• SRT Harness
• Chest Harness
• Cowstails

• At 12:00, signup will close and we will review the skills and locations of everyone who has signed up.
• Before 7pm, you'll receive a Facebook Messenger Message confirming the cave you're headed to.

• We arrive at the cave meeting point - often at slightly different times.
• We get kitted up and head to the cave
• We have a fun trip together

• The Cave Reporter will share a post from your cave about what happened there